Victoria’s Secret Is PETA US’ ‘Company of the Year’ for its Feather-Free Fashion Show
17.12.2024
London — Victoria’s Secret read the room! After previously using up to 620,000 feathers—from chickens, Chinese pheasants, and ostriches—in a single fashion show for models’ angel wings, the lingerie company returned to the runway this autumn after a six-year hiatus showcasing gorgeous wings that were entirely feather-free. This move had one unlikely ally, and former critic, tickled PINK: PETA US, who has named Victoria’s Secret its 2024 Company of the Year for constructing creative, cutting-edge angel wings with everything from 3-D printed materials and quilted satin to soda can tabs and Swarovski crystals—all entirely vegan.
Victoria’s Secret’s compassionate decision to spare birds from suffering followed exchanges with PETA US, which informed the retailer about the cruel ways birds are raised and killed for their feathers and shared undercover video footage of how feathers are obtained.
“Victoria’s Secret’s catwalk comeback showed everyone how to rock the runway without harming birds for fleeting fashion accessories,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA applauds Victoria’s Secret for showing designers and consumers everywhere how to be an angel for animals by going feather-free.”
In their natural habitat, ostriches form strong social bonds and nurture their young for up to three years. But as revealed in a PETA exposé of the ostrich skin and feather industry, workers forcibly restrain scared young ostriches and slit their throats before tearing the feathers from their still-warm bodies, sometimes in full view of their flockmates. Other birds fare no better – peacocks, pheasants, emus, turkeys, and chickens all endure miserable lives on crowded farms and painful deaths so that their feathers can be used for fashion.
Past winners of PETA US’ Company of the Year award include Apple Inc. for ending its use of animal leather across all lines of its merchandise and Save the Duck, which pioneered the groundbreaking insulation technology Plumtech, for proving that outerwear can be warm, stylish, and feather-free.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.
Contact:
Sascha Camilli +44 (0) 20 7923 6244; [email protected]
#